The ship had weathered the storm and the damage had been identified, and there were a few cracks that were not serious, but the last of the three masts was broken and had to be repaired before it could continue sailing, otherwise the speed of the ship would be greatly affected.

Harald told Zhou Lang that if he could find a suitable port and shipyard, then it would be repaired in three or five days, but if he was unlucky, there was no suitable port nearby, and he was afraid that he would not be able to set sail for ten days and half a month.

Zhou Lang asked Harald to forcibly sail the boat and go to Macao first, but Harald refused, he was the captain of the ship and had undoubted power on the ship, even Zhou Lang's employer could not order him, which made Zhou Lang very angry, but helpless, because he knew that Harald was right, but this might delay his big event.

The small boat sent out to check came back in the afternoon, and they brought back a news that there was a harbor three miles to the north, which was a very fortunate thing, but the port was very small, and their eight-hundred-ton ship could only take advantage of the high tide to enter the port, and there was no dock to dock, but fortunately, this port was a port formed by a coastal lagoon, with a shallow draft but the bottom of the sea was made of soft sea sand, and the ship could be stranded directly, repaired on the beach, and dragged into the sea after repair. It's just a back and forth, plus the time for repairs, it takes about ten days.

Ten days is ten days, it's better than no deadline, Zhou Lang thinks that his psychological quality is very good, and he can't help but be anxious at this time. But this feeling calmed him down, because the life he pursued was never calm, and this feeling was often encountered, but every time he successfully resolved it, it made his success seem more rare.

After calming down, he couldn't help but start thinking back on his plan this time, like every plan he had made in the past, there were twists and turns and obstacles, but this time it seemed to be particularly unsmooth. On the contrary, it was very smooth at the beginning, which made him relax his mentality, until the East India Company intervened, the troubles continued one after another, and finally encountered waves, which made Zhou Lang's mentality unbalanced, and even quarreled with the captain, which has never been in any business development, because he always has a principle in his heart, that is, to leave professional things to professional people to do, and he only needs to be responsible for supervision as the founder, and does not need to interfere with the work of professionals.

After thinking of this, Zhou Lang's state of mind began to stabilize again, and became more calm, like a supercomputer running at high speed again, he understood that the biggest opponent was not those accidents, not storms, not bad luck, but the East India Company.

It is precisely because this opponent is too strong that he is obsessed with taking advantage of Magalny's east wind, but looking back, even if there is no historical event of Magalny's visit to China, is his plan not feasible? Whether it is the business plan he gives to those shareholders, or the ambitious plan in his heart, it is the result of careful consideration and logical feasibility.

After eliminating distractions, Zhou Lang started to work again, this time not to interfere with the captain's work, but to put forward some suggestions, he does not interfere with the work of professionals, but it is normal to put forward reasonable suggestions, and even sometimes he must make requests, and then professionals are responsible for implementation, so that it is the most efficient.

After the quarrel, Zhou Lang took the initiative to find Captain Harald and communicated with him. The captain's opinion was to send someone to the harbor at once, to get in touch with the port, to ask them to allow the Oriental Dawn to enter the harbor, and to request assistance from them, at their own expense, of course.

Zhou Lang thinks that Harald's thinking is already very clear, and he doesn't need to add too much content by himself, after all, the other party has extremely rich experience in dealing with storms, and I am afraid that this kind of thing has been encountered more than once, but the other party does not know much about Chinese customs and habits, so Zhou Lang suggested bringing more money, and using money to open the way in this country is more useful than a request to lower his profile.

A group of twelve people quickly set out, and they drove lifeboats, four of them soldiers, eight sailors, and a box of three thousand silver coins, to the port to contact the rescue.

The merchant ships anchored outside the lagoon and waited for the messengers to deliver the good news, but they were not seen back until dark, and no one was surprised at this, but Harald warned that the situation might not be good. However, Zhou Lang felt that it shouldn't be, these people went to work with a lot of money, even if they met profiteers, it was a big deal to be bullied and slaughtered, there should be no accidents.

But Harald warned that these people were likely to have encountered accidents, and said that he had encountered this kind of thing many times, in Africa and the Pacific waters, there were often crew members who were killed by natives after going ashore, and also cited many examples of sailing predecessors, such as Magellan who died in the Philippines.

Zhou Lang didn't think so, how could he compare the Chinese with those tribal natives, and he was very sure that the Chinese at this time were definitely more deferential than the Chinese in the 21st century, and the Chinese in this era were the real obedient people, even if the knife was handed to them, they might not be able to do it.

Harald recognized that Zhou Lang's words had a certain amount of truth, he had been to China many times, there had been conflicts, but the other party was reasonable, he also felt that ancient civilized countries such as India, Persia and China were reasonable, so he dared to send people to contact, if it was really Africa, he would not send a few people to contact, but to lead troops.

Harald's words also made Zhou Lang also begin to reflect, he suddenly thought that there are still many indigenous tribes in Taiwan in this era, if a few people really accidentally fall into the hands of the indigenous tribes, I am afraid the result will not be good. However, the previous investigation clearly found that there was a port in front of it, and it was impossible for the natives to build a port.

The disappearance of twelve crew members in unfamiliar waters has made the atmosphere on the entire ship tense. Harald asked all the men to get ready, and Colin gathered the rest of the soldiers, armed them, and took turns keeping watch for the night. The three of them had a meeting in the captain's room, and they all agreed to send an expedition to shore immediately after dawn the next day to find the missing crew members, the life and death of the twelve people is not a trivial matter, even if they die, they must find the reason, give an explanation to the other crew members, the top management does not care about the life and death of the bottom crew, and there are many things that cause rebellion at sea.

But the doubts were revealed before they could send out the expedition, for the twelve crew members returned, unscathed, and brought back good news, that they had promised to help repair the ship as best they could, and that they had the goods to repair the mast, and that they would soon be able to repair it as soon as the ship was ashore. But the other party offered a high price, and they left the three thousand silver coins brought by the twelve crew members, saying that it was a deposit, and asked the merchant ship to give them another seven thousand silver coins before they were willing to help repair the ship.

This is good news, because money is not a problem, 10,000 silver coins, worth more than 7,000 taels of silver, compared to the profit of a voyage, it is worth investing, but the crew's description of their communication with the Chinese on the shore makes Zhou Lang suspicious.

The crew explained that they had spent the night on shore because of a misunderstanding with the Chinese soldiers on shore. After they went ashore, the only Chinese on the ship, that is, the Chinese chef recruited in Malacca, took them to the shipyard in the port to explore, which is only a small shipyard, and it is the only shipyard in the local area, and the main business is indeed to repair ships, but they have not repaired large ships, and most of the usual repairs are fishing boats.

The purpose of the crew is not actually to find someone to repair, the equipment of this small shipyard is not up to standard at all, and the final maintenance has to rely on manpower, the ship is equipped with professional carpenters, so the main thing they need is actually materials, they need a log that can be used as a mast, as well as some twine, tung oil and board to fill the cracks, these raw materials were originally available on the ship, but no one expected that there would be cracks in the hull, so some are not enough, like this basic raw material no matter how small the shipyard should also be necessary.

It's just that the shipyard doesn't have the mast material they need, and the owner of the shipyard is also a master carpenter, and he suggested that they go to the city to find out if there are any timber merchants there.

"What's the name of that city?"

Zhou Lang suddenly interjected.

"They said it was called the Left Battalion."

The chef speaks Hokkien dialect, and he is in the right place in Taiwan, but it is a little difficult to communicate with Zhou Lang.

Zhou Lang heard the words Zuo Ying clearly, and couldn't help frowning: "Is it a military camp?" ”

He was too sensitive to the military, this was not the time for him to clash with the Manchu government, and when he heard the word "battalion", he suddenly had some bad premonitions in his heart, he was sure that the common people of this era may be more obedient than later generations, and they were the real obedient people, but at the same time he was very uneasy about the soldiers of this era, and the soldiers of this era were real ruffians.

"It's a city, it's not small, and there aren't many people. There are mountains in the north and south, lakes in the east, and the sea in the west. ”

The chef said.

Zhou Lang nodded: "You continue to talk about your affairs in the city." ”

The cook said: "When we entered the city, there were mountains in the north and south, and there were also wooden shops, but they didn't have big ingredients, saying that there were no ready-made ingredients, so we had to wait." We asked how long we would have to wait to go up the mountain. The shopkeeper said that he was lucky for two or three days, and if he was unlucky, he might be unlucky. After we asked, we couldn't come up with an idea, and we wanted to go back the same way, but who knew that someone found us at this time and said that he had the material. said that the government originally asked them to repair the Confucian Temple in the west of the city, but who wanted to stop repairing it in the end, and the prepared materials were put for five years, and they had already dried in the shade, which was suitable for us to make masts. We went with the man, but he took him to the Confucian Temple by the west lake of the city, and twenty or thirty green battalion soldiers surrounded us, saying that we were Haikou. ”

"Did they do it?"

Zhou Lang interjected.

"No, I explained it to them in good words, saying that we are a merchant ship of Tianzhu Kingdom, and when we encountered a storm, the mast broke, and we came here to find material for repairing the mast. They asked if they had brought the money, and we said they were. In the end, they really showed us their materials, and the temple did have a lot of materials, and there were big rafters that we could use. In the end, they said that the money was not enough, and asked us to take more money, and when it was dark, they kept us for the night and let us go early this morning. ”

After listening to the cook's words, Zhou Lang always felt that there was something strange in them, and he even decided that the green battalion soldiers on the shore had set up a bureau for them, intending to lure them ashore to steal their property.

With this thought, Zhou Lang quickly met with Harald and Colin.

The other two were also asking their own people, because among the twelve people sent to contact, there were not only cooks who knew Hokkien and Hakka, but also sailors and soldiers, Zhou Lang asked the cook, Captain Harald asked his captain, and Colin asked his soldiers.

The facts asked by the three were basically the same, but their judgments on this were divided.

"Gotta go. Be sure to listen to me this time. Our ship could still sail with one less mast, but if there was a clash with the local army here, the losses would be too great. ”

Zhou Lang thought that the green battalion soldiers on the shore were not well-intentioned, he felt that it was not worth taking this risk at all, they had a broken ship, a hundred crew members, only half of them were qualified armed personnel, but on the opposite side was an unknown number of Manchu Qing green battalions, the combat effectiveness was uncertain, but the number was definitely more than his own side, and their reserves were endless, because once there was a conflict with them, it meant a conflict with the Manchu government.

"There's no reason for the other party not to let go of the opportunity to make a fortune, you are too cautious."

Harald, however, felt that the other party was just trying to do business, and insisted on going ashore to complete the deal, because his men were quite sure that they had seen the wood.

Zhou Langren felt that it was probably because Haral's sailors did not understand Hokkien, and they must not know it more clearly than they did, and they were too unvigilant against the moral standards of the Chinese Green Battalion.

Zhou Lang insisted on his own considerations: "Maybe they just want to make a fortune, but who dares to say that they won't have a conspiracy, we can't afford to take this risk." ”

Harald similarly insisted: "Yes, it can be risky to go ashore. But no risk on land can ever compare to the direction of the wind on the sea. We don't do any repairs and risk going to sea, and the risks we encounter will only be greater. ”

Zhou Lang really couldn't understand Harald's insistence, he had obviously consulted Harald before, if it was really impossible to repair, Harald promised that even if it could not be repaired, it would not affect the ship's continued sailing, but the speed would drop a lot. But now Harald thinks that the voyage is very risky, and it is either a lie before or a lie now.

Zhou Lang's relationship with Harald has not been good in the past few days, because there was a quarrel before, because Zhou Lang was in a hurry to Macau before, and Harald insisted on repairing the ship first. Perhaps because of emotions, Harald resolutely opposed Zhou Lang at this time.

This kind of internal conflict in entrepreneurial enterprises is far more common than that of mature companies, because entrepreneurial enterprises are always characterized by rapid development or rapid collapse, and lack of fixed organizational structures that have been formed for a long time, and are relatively more unstable. Some founders want to take a long-term term and complete the ABC round of financing, and then go public, while some founders want to cash out as soon as possible, and are even willing to sell the company at a high level as soon as possible to cash out. Some believe that as many capable investors as possible should be brought in, while others insist on holding control in their hands. A variety of different judgments on development have led to the early failure of a large number of startups.

Zhou Lang has experienced many internal struggles, but they are all caused by different views on the development of the company according to their own interests, and there are few conflicts like this because of vindictiveness.

It's really not worth it to be vindictive, and Harald is just a captain hired by Zhou Lang, at most he is a senior manager, not even a partner, Zhou Lang feels that it is really not worth fighting with this person.

He suppressed his anger and took the initiative to communicate with the other party: "Harald, I know we have quarreled before. But we should think rationally, if there is a conflict with the local government at this time, can we afford it? ”

Harald was a little impatient: "Why should we go to the local government, do we just repair the ship, or spend a lot of money to repair it, I don't understand why the local government is involved." ”

Zhou Lang said: "I didn't say that there would be a conflict, I just said that there is a possibility, but we can't afford to take this risk." ”

Harald said, "Stop, stop, let's stop this senseless quarrel." I'm the captain, okay. I have to take responsibility for the entire crew, and I can't let my ship sail into unfamiliar waters without repairs. ”

Zhou Lang said: "Okay, since that's the case. I have to correct one thing, I bought the boat and you hired you, so you have to listen to me. ”

Harald didn't speak, looked at Zhou Lang's eyes for a moment, and showed a disappointed look:

"As long as I am on the sea, I am the captain, this is my ship, and everyone has to listen to me."

Zhou Lang was really angry this time, and pointed directly at Harald's nose: "When I return to Calcutta, I will definitely ask the company to fire you!" ”

Harald had a nonchalant expression.

Zhou Lang pushed the door out angrily.

Colin followed, shouting from behind, "Zhou! ”

He is a peacemaker: "It's just a few ruffians who want to get rich, and this kind of thing is not worth making a fuss about." I'm sure no one would really want to rob a loaded European soldier. ”

Zhou Lang could only nod: "This time it should indeed be fully armed." ”

Last time, for fear of causing unnecessary misunderstandings, none of the people who came ashore carried heavy weapons, but a few soldiers hid pistols, and if they continued to trade this time, they must all bring weapons to deter the other party, and they may be able to avoid trouble.

After speaking, Zhou Lang walked straight into his cabin, a bedroom that was originally the first mate, far less spacious than the captain's room, only a bed and a table, and there was even a sofa installed in the captain's room.

He didn't know that over there, Colin turned around and walked into the captain's room again.

I didn't know that Harald's temper was not over yet, and he complained to Colin.

"Fack! Lao Tzu did business with French soldiers, with the British army, with American officers, and with the princes of India. I also did business with the Chinese! ”

Harald shouted and held out two fingers.

"Twice!"

Then he said: "In Macau, sell opium to their naval soldiers!" ”

"It's still smuggling!" ”

"Relax, you should relax."

Colin suggested.

Harald snorted: "You still have to fire me, Lao Tzu is not rare to do it for him, if it wasn't for Lao Tzu's ship sinking last year, would he do it?" He bought the boat, and the people on board were all Lao Tzu! ”

Colin and Harald were communicating in the captain's room, but Zhou Lang was pondering in the first mate's room, in fact, he was not as angry as he had just appeared.

He thought to himself that he had an open conflict with the captain, and if Colin was really a spy sent by the East India Company to spy on him, then the other party must be relieved.

But the quarrel with Harald is real, and the division of power on the ship does make Zhou Lang very passive now, he really lost control of the Oriental Dawn, at least he was hollowed out.

Harald's decision to go to Zuoying to repair the ship cannot be changed, what Zhou Lang can do now is to try to remedy the possible crisis, he needs to conduct a risk analysis and prepare a feasible crisis plan.